Automatic drill press feeder



Feb. l2, 1946. w. w.` HEcKE'rl-IQRNu 2,394,769'

AUTOMATIC DRILL PRESS FEEDER Filed Aug. 2, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ind.. Mmm

Feb; l2., 1946. w. w. H EcKE-THORN 2,3942769 v AUTOMATIC DRILL PRESS FEEDR v Filed Aug. 2, 1945 2 Sheets-Shes*I 2 52695. l INVENTOR.

/AM i ATroRNEY.

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Patented Fel). 12, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,394,769 AUTOMATIC'DRILL PRESSFEEDER William W. Heckethorn, Littleton, Colgassignor to Hecketliorn Manufacturing & Supply Co., Littleton,V Colo., a corporation ofl Colorado Application August 2, 1943,' 'serial N6.- 97,114

' cla'ims. c1.`77-L.64)v

. This invention relates to a device for feeding a drill press and has for its principal objectthe provision of a, simple and highly efficient device which will continuously feed the work'to the drill,

accurately align it therewith and firmly hold the work during Athe drilling operation..

f Other objects of the invention areto provide automatic means for feeding` the drill to thework `in such a manner as to obtain the most rapid and efficient drilling possible and to prolong the'life of the drill; and to perform allof the above operations in the shortest possible `time so as tmobtain maxi-mum capacity from the drill press.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is de.

feeding mechanism` applied to a typical drill press;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the feeding mechanism, taken on the line 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 isa smaller scale side view of the invention applied to a typical drill;

l Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the work block employed below the feed disc of the in.- vention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section through one of the gripping jaws employed in the feed wheel of the device, taken on the line 5-'5,'Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a still further enlarged detail section taken on the line 6 6, Fig.`l, illustrating a type of -work piece upon which the invention may be Fig. 7 illustrates the application of a safety stop to the device; y v f Fig. 8 is a detail bottom view ofthe vise' opening arm of the device; and

Fig. 9 is a vertical detail section throughthe feed wheel aligning mechanism, taken onV the line 9 9, Fig. 1. 'Y Parts of a typical drill press are designated` in the drawings by numeral as follows: table ID, drill post II, head I2, drill sleeve I3, drill spindle I4, drill feeding lever I5, chuck -I6, drill II'I ,and drive motor I8. The work piece upon which the drilling is to Vbe done is indicated; atl 22. The

invention is designed vto accurately place and hold the work piece 22`below thefdrill I1 and then properly Ioperate the drill press lever I5 to drill the requiredn hole for the required depth in the Work--The above is accomplished by rotatably mountingga vhorizontal feed wheel I9 upon a suit- 'able supporting block 29,*secured tothe table ,|0.

The-periphery of the disc is radially slotted at equi-spaced points. 'Axed vise jaw -2I is mounted in the end of each slot toward.l the axis of the wheel. The vise jaws 2| each contain a V-shaped notch for receiving the cylindrical side of the work pieceM22.r The sidesof each slot arechan- -neled as indicated at 23,'Fig. 5, and the vise jaws are formed with suitable ribsf24 which enter these channels to retain the jaws in place in the slots. The work piece 22 is held in place by means of a sliding clamping jaw 25 also provided with suitable guide tongues which engage in the Achannels 23. The workpiece 22 rests on the top of the block 20. l

The wheel I9 is so positioned that at one point of its revolution, the work pieces will be brought directly below the axis of the drill Il. At this point, a fixture plate 26 is provided. The fixture plate 26 contains a guide hole 2l throughmwhich the Adrill passes, and by which it is held inthe desired position. fIhe wheel I9 is successively rotated to bring each work piece accurately below thevhole 2'I by means of a reciprocating pusher arm 28, the extremity of which is notched to successively engage the successive pinsof a series of gauge pins 29. `The gauge pins` 29 project upwardlyv from the disc I9, there being one pin for each of the peripheral slots. The pusher arm 28 may be reciprocated after each drilling operation vby meansof any. desired mechanism.

As illustrated, Vthereciprocation of the pusher arm isa.ccomplished through the medium of a compressed aircylinder 29,. y'I'he air cylinder is ofany l*standard design containing -asuitable piston, Afrom which a piston rod-3l projects, and having a. suitable internal spring (notshown) .for retracting` the pistonrod, The flow of air to 45 the piston'from a pressure pipe 'I8 is controlled by means of a suitable standard slide `valve desig- .natedfin its entirety'v by the vnumeral 32. The

pistonrod 3l isconnected through the medium of aconnecting rod33 with one extremity 86 of a `'double swinging lever 34. `.The pusher arm 28 is-a'lso vconnected to the extremity 85 of the lever i4.I Theflever 34 is rotatably mountedfintermediate its extremities upon a suitable pivot pin 35. It will be noted that one side of the pusher a1m28 is notched as s hownat 36,: and that this swingingY lever A34'.

notch coacts with a pin 31 on a supporting slide block 38.

The action of the pusher arm is as follows: When air is admitted to the cylinder through the medium of the slide valve 32, it acts through the piston rod 3| and connecting rod 33 to push the extremity of the swinging lever 34 forwardly f to the broken line position of 1. This causes the hooked extremity of the pusher :arm -38 'to push against one, of the gauge pins 29 to rotate the wheel VI9 one vise space. The slide valve 32 Y now Yoperates to discharge the air from the cylin- Y der to allow the piston rod 3| to move rearwardly. The rearward movement of the rod 3| causes the pusher arm 28 to move backwardly; with the pin I valve 32. The cam track-'65 is Yso contoured that once during each revolution it` will actuate the slide valve 32 to operate the feed wheel rotating Y' mechanism.

31 riding in the notch 36. When the ,pin'reachesfr the extremity of this notch,uas shown in Fig. l,

p it will act against the pusher arm to vforce it into Ycontact with the next successive gauge pin'r29.

The amount of forward movement of the pusher Yarm can be accurately regulated by means of a Y stop screw 39 positioned in the path of an ex-v tended extremity 40on the swinging arm '34.

f While the operation of the pusher arm is fairly accurate, it` may not be sufficiently accurate to properlya'lign the work piece with the drill hole 21. f The nal accurate placement is accomplished by means of a wedge-shaped aligning bar 4 |,V the pointed extremity of which is forced into .engage` mentwith anY aligning notch 42 cut in the outer end of VYeach ofthe vmovable vise jaws 25. This is accomplished by extending an arm 81 of the swinginglever 34 through a guide block 43 and through the aligning bar`4| which is slidably mounted therein. Thegulde block is accurately positioned and acts not only as a guide for the aligning V`bar 4|, but also to vsupport they drill xture Yplate `26. yTherefore each time the swinging lever 34 returns to its rearward or retracted posif tion, its extremity will'force'the aligning bar 4|` forwardly into the notch 42 of the.V aligned vise jaw to accuratelyposition this jaw below the drill and to firmly grip the ,work between the two jaws p 'It'has'also been found that for positive accurate operation some means are necessary to stop the rotation of the'disc I9 so that it will not carry beyondV the aligning bar 4|. This lispatrtiallyV Y accomplished b y'meansy of afriction brake disc f pin 48,V This lever has abelI-crank shape and one armthereof is connected by means of a short connectingrodr 49 with the extremity of :the

Each timeV the'lever 34- is pushed forwardly to rotate the wheel |9,"the stop lever Q41 is alsoV swung forwardly until it engages inthe aligning notchr42 of one Vofthervisejjaws 25 Ato stop the rotaticnvof'the Vdisc I9 at the termlnation of its' interval ofY movement. The stop lever '41 then moves Vaway, to allow the aligning block4| to accurately position the wheel |9.

The various steps inthe operation Vofjthe machineV are initiated from a control shaft 50 which The Acontrol shaft also acts to'press the drill |1 downwardlyrintoY the work piece. This is ac-l complished through the medium of anV edge cam k62r mounted on'the shaft 50. A rocker armi63 is mounted on a suitable hinge stud 64 on the bearing plate 56. The rocker arm carries a cam follower roller 65 which rides on the cam 62. The

other extremity of the. rocker arm, indicated atV `8B, isconnected by means of an adjustable connecting rod 66 with the drill feeding'lever |5 of the .drill press.

. It isdesired to call attention to the contour of the cam 62. The contour starts a low point 61 and thence spirals outwardly to avhigh point 68,. The Vangle, of the outward spiral corresponds to maximum feed capacity: of the particular drill being used. Afplurality of chip breaking notchesv 15 are formed in the spiral edge ofthe cam. `The cam 62 isso' placedy on the shaft 50 that when the work has been properly centered under the drill, the follower roll 65 will'start to travel up the spiral edge of the .cam forcing the drill downwardly into the work piece. V-After the drill has drilled a predetermined distance, the roller 65 will drop`into the rst notch 15, quickly lifting the drill from the drill hole-to break the drill chip.: It then willy continue-along the spiral to the nextnotch 15 whereY a similar operation will beperformed',V and until `the high .point 68 is s reached! It will then drop Yto the low point 61 to completely withdraw the drill to allowoper- A' ation of thewheel'rotating-mechanismf Y Y of ardrill press and the operatingmechanism is Vpiece being operatedupo'n, 7 device is Set up t0 drill' an Vaxial hole"B'ZfiztfaY 1 o is rotated by anroperating motor 5| through the Y medium of a suitable speed reducer 152 and any suitable" power, transmission 'such as a chain :'75 'face of `the base-bleek zo immediately'below the -Aviseopenin'g bracket 69 ismounte'donithe Y block 38 so as to extend over the'path of theY y movable jaws 25. The bracket 69 carries arbeveled, downwardly projecting boss 1|)Y on its lower face. The beveledl side of this boss is positioned Ain the path of a series of opening pinsrll, there being one of these pins inY each of the movable 'jaws 25.V lAs soon Vas. the drillingoperation has been completed on a pieceY ofwork,V its vise will move beneath the vise opening'bracket 19 where the inclined boss 10 will contact the pin 1| therein so as to withdraw the movableV jaw allowing the work piece 22 to drop through areceiving opening `12 'formed throughthe supporting block 20Iand through the bed I6 toa suitable receiving chute 13. 'The device is attached,Y to Vthe standard table supported from the table-upon Vashelf plate 14 which Vis secured to the drill press inany.V desired manner such as by meansof caprscrews v tapped into the drill press table.. l Y

Y The sizeand shape of ther vise'jaws depends Yuponfth'e size and shape, of the particular work cylindrical work piece; 22.V V.The latterhas'a flat button 8|'projecting from the drilled'extremity :and a Short axialstem projectingfron the other extremity. A f

An annular 'gropvefe is renne@Y the upper Asi illustrated, the

work pieces to accommodate thepassage of the stem 80, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. It will be noted that if the operator should accidentally place a work piece between the jaws in an'inverted position, as indicated by the right hand piece of Fig. 7, the piece will project above the remaining correctly inserted work pieces. 'Advantage is taken of this fact to provide an automatic stop in such'emergencies.

The automatic stop comprises a standard'tilt switch 83 as shown in Fig. 7. The switch 83 is supported above the path of the work pieces on the table in the position shown in broken line in Fig. 1. The arm of the switch, shown at 84, depends over the work pieces so that whenever an inverted work piece passes, it Will, due to its extra heighth strike the arm 84 and tilt the switch to close an electricalcircuit to ,any suitable feed stopping device such as a solenoid valve on the pressure line 18. The drill continues Vto reciprocate in the drilled hole of the last nished piece until the inverted piece has been correctly placed.

The control shaft 50 may extend along a row of drill presses controlling all of them in their proper sequence. A single operator can feed the work pieces between the vise jaws of a plurality of feeders since the remainder of the drilling operation is handled automatically by the improved feeding device.

It is preferred to mount thev rotating feed wheel or table on both radial and axial thrust bearing balls 'Il to facilitate its movement, avoid wear and preserve its accuracy.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A drill press feeding device comprising: a horizontal rotary table having a plurality of equally spaced vise slots in its periphery, said table being positioned to successively bring said slots below the drill of said press; a fixed vise jaw in the axial extremity of each slot; a movable vise jaw intheperipherial extremity of each slot having a notch in its outer end; means for successively rotating said table one slot space; and wedge means engageable in the notch of the movable jaw to clamp the work and accurately place it below the drill in advance of each drilling operation.

2. A drill press feeding device comprising: a horizontal rotary -table having a plurality of equally spaced vise slots in its periphery, said table being positioned to successively bring said slots below the drill of said press; a fixed vise jaw in the axial extremity of each slot; a movable vise jaw in the peripherial extremity of each slot; a plurality of gauge pins projecting from said table, there being one pin for each slot therein; a reciprocating pusher arm engageable with said pins to rotate said table by successive intervals corresponding to the slot spaces; a pressure cylinder having a pressure operated piston; means connecting said piston with said pusher arm to operate the latter a swinging lever pivoted intermediate its extremities to swing in the plane of said table; a bell-crank lever positioned at the edge of said table; means for rotating said bell-crank lever from one extremity of said swinging lever;v and means for connecting the other extremity of said swinging lever to said pusher arm so that when said pusher arm reaches its extreme forward position, said bell-,crank lever will move-against said table to stop further movement thereof.

3. A drill press feeding device comprising: a horizontal rotary table having a plurality of equallyspaced vise slots in its periphery, said table being positioned to successively bringsaid slots below the drill of said press; a fixed `vise jaw in the axial extremity of each slot; a movable vise jaw in the peripherial extremity of each slot; a plurality of gauge pins projecting from said table, there being one pin for each slot therein; a reciprocating pusher arm engageable with said pins to rotate said table by successive intervals corresponding to the slot spaces; a pressure cylinder having a pressure operated piston; means connecting said piston with said pusher arm to operate the latter; and adjustable stop means for limiting the movement of said piston. 4. A drill press feeding device comprising: a horizontal rotary table having a plurality of equally spaced vise slots in its periphery, said vtable being positioned to successively bring said slots below the drill of said press; a fixed vise jaw in the axial extremity of each slot; a movable vise jaw in the peripherialextremity of each slot; means for successively rotating said table one slot space; means for pressing the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw during the drilling operation; a pin projecting upwardly from each movable jaw; and a beveled surface positioned in the path of said pins to engage the latter and move them radially outward during the rotation of said table to release the work from said jaws.

5. A drill press feeding device comprising: a horizontal rotary table having a plurality of equally spaced vise slots in its periphery, said table being positioned to successively bring said slots below the drill of said press; a xed vise jaw in the axial extremity of each slot; a movable vise jaw in the peripherial extremity of each slot; means 'for successively rotating said table one slot space; means for pressing the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw during the drilling operation; a pin projecting upwardly from each movable jaw; a beveled surface positioned in the path of said pins to engage the latter and move them radially outward during the rotation of said table to release the work from said jaws; and

reciprocating means for engaging said movable jaws to move them radially inward prior to the drilling operation.

6. A drill press feeding device comprising: a horizontal rotary table having a `plurality of equally spaced vise slotsl in its periphery, said table being positioned to successively bring said' slots below the drill of said press; a fixed vise jaw in the axial extremity of each slot; a movable vise jaw slidably mounted in the peripherial extremity of each sl'ot; a swinging lever mounted t0 swing in the plane of said table; means actuated from one extremity of said lever for suc cessively rotating said table one slot space; and means operable from the other extremity of said lever for preventing rotation of said table when said rotating means is in its withdrawn position.

7. A drill press feeding device comprising: a horizontal rotary table having a plurality of equally spaced vise slots-in its periphery, said table being positioned to successively bring said slots below the drill of said press, the sides of eachV slot being provided with longitudinally extending channels; a ixed vise. jaw; movable vise jaw;V ribs formed on thesides of saidv'i'se jawsrslidably fitted into the Ychannels of4 said slots to maintain kthe jaws in alignment with each otherV and YWith said table; means for successively rotating Said-table one slot space; a; damping member; means for causing said clamping member to engage each successive movable vise .jaw during each pause of said table to force the mov- Y able jaw toward the fixed iaw during the drilling operation.V

8. 'A drill Vpress feeding device comprising: VaV horizontal rotary tablehaving aY plurality oi" jequally spaced vise slots in itsv periphery, said table being positioned to successively bring said slots below the drill of said press, the sides of each slot being provided with longitudinally extending channels; a fixed vise jaw; a movable visejaw; ribs formed on the Vsides of saidj vise vjaws slidably tted Yinto the channels of said slots to maintain therjaws in alignmentowith Yeach other and with said table; means for successively Vrotating said .table one slot space; a v clamping ymember'; Y

clamping member to engage each successive means for causingk said movable vvise jaw during each pause of said table to force vthe movable jaw toward the fixed jaw during the drilling Operation; a projection en each movable'jaw extending above the plane oi said table; and a stationary memberY positioned in theV path of said projections to cause said movable jaws toY move away from said xed jaws in consequence of the rotation 'of said table.

9. A drill press feeding devicey comprising; Va horizontal rotary. table havingy a plurality' of 'equally spaced vise yslots in its periphery, said table being positioned to successively bring said slots belowY the drill of said press, the sides o f each slot being provided with longitudinally eX- tending channels; a fixed viserjaw; a movable vise javvfribs formed on the sides of said vise jaws slidably fitted into the channels of said 

